NPCC: Northeast has sufficient power supplies to meet demand this summer

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Dive Brief:

Northeast North America will have adequate supply of electricity this summer, even if there are extreme weather events, according to the latest assessment by the Northeast Power Coordinating Council.

The NPCC regions comprises the six New England states, plus New York, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The region’s installed capacity is 158,400 MW, while NPCC forecasts coincident peak summer demand for the region at 105,277 MW.

Dive Insight:

One of the imponderables with demand forecasts is the weather. But even accounting for extreme events, NPCC sees northeastern North America with sufficient capacity to meet demand.

Total capacity in the region is 158,400 MW, which is basically unchanged from last year because new generation has offset retirements. The region lost about 350 MW of capacity between the summer of 2016 and the summer of 2017, says NPCC. In the same period, the region added 2,242 MW of new capacity, with more than half of the total coming from renewable resources.

NPCC forecast of peak demand, meanwhile, is 1,113 MW lower than its demand forecast for last summer. The lower demand projection is influenced by factors such as the economic outlook, as well as the effects of conservation measures, efficiency improvements and demand response programs.

NPCC forecasts spare operable capacity for the region of 14,888 MW, but noted that restraints on transfer capacity between Quebec and the Maritime provinces to the rest of the region reduces that forecast to 9,330 MW.